The following U.S. Patents are incorporated herein by reference, in entirety:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,674 discloses a pivot position sensor for sensing outboard motor trim, which includes a housing within which a pair of U-shaped movable contacts are secured in axially spaced relation on an operating rod which extends outwardly of the housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,699 discloses a sensor that responds to the operation of a marine transportation system to sense on-plane and off-plane conditions of a boat to operate a trim control to automatically position a trimmable drive for a desired boating operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,065 discloses arrangements for stabilizing the running of a marine propulsion device by slowing the speed of the propulsion unit when an underwater obstacle is struck.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,291 discloses embodiments of marine outboard drives including devices for protecting the unit in the event of tilting up more than a predetermined extent. The protection devices slow the engine when the outboard drive is tilted up more than the predetermined amount.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,857 discloses a system for optimizing the operation of a marine drive of the type whose position may be varied with respect to the boat by the operation of separate lift and trim/tilt means. The system includes an automatic control system which stores preselected drive unit positions for various operating modes and is operative to return the drive unit to any pre-established position by pressing a selected operating mode positioning button.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,986 discloses an idle speed control system for a marine propulsion system that controls the amount of fuel injected into the combustion chamber of an engine cylinder as a function of the error between a selected target speed and an actual speed. The speed can be engine speed measured in revolutions per minute or, alternatively, it can be boat speed measured in nautical miles per hour or kilometers per hour.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,177 discloses a marine propulsion system provided with a gear shifting apparatus and method that changes a transmission from a low gear to a high gear, and vice versa, based solely on the engine speed. Engine speed is measured and a rate of change of engine speed is determined as a function of the actual change in engine speed over a measured time interval.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,404 discloses a Hall-effect rotational position sensor that is mounted on a pivotable member of a marine propulsion system wherein a rotatable portion of the rotational position sensor is attached to a drive structure of the marine propulsion system. Relative movement between the pivotable member, such as a gimbal ring, and the drive structure, such as the outboard drive portion of the marine propulsion system, cause relative movement between the rotatable and stationary portions of the rotational position sensor. As a result, signals can be provided which are representative of the angular position between the drive structure and the pivotable member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,771 discloses a control system for a marine vessel that incorporates a marine propulsion system connected in signal communication with a serial communication bus and a controller. A plurality of input devices and output devices are also connected in signal communication with the communication bus. A bus access manager, such as a CAN Kingdom network, is connected in signal communication with the controller to regulate the incorporation of additional devices to the plurality of devices in signal communication with the bus whereby the controller is connected in signal communication with each of the plurality of devices on the communication bus. The input and output devices can each transmit messages to the serial communication bus for receipt by other devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,672 discloses a watercraft having an engine that is controlled to reduce the likelihood of engine damage when the watercraft engine speed is rapidly increased due to a lack of load on the propulsion unit. The engine is controlled by a method that detects engine speed and reduces the power output of the engine by varying degrees depending on the speed of the engine relative to plural predetermined speeds.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,156,709 discloses a calibration procedure that allows an upward maximum limit of tilt to be automatically determined and stored as an operator rotates a marine propulsion device relative to a marine vessel with a particular indication present. That indication can be a grounded circuit point which informs a microprocessor that a calibration procedure is occurring in relation to an upward trim limit. When the ground wire is removed or disconnected from the circuit point, the microprocessor knows that the calibration process is complete. During the rotation of the outboard motor or marine propulsion device in an upward direction, both the angular position of the outboard motor and the direction of change of a signal from a trim sensor are stored.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,622,777 discloses systems and methods for maneuvering a marine vessel so as to limit interference by the hull of the vessel with reverse thrust. A marine propulsion device provides at least a reverse thrust with respect to the marine vessel. The propulsion device is vertically pivotable into a trim position wherein the hull does not impede or interfere with the reverse thrust. A control circuit controls the propulsion device to move into the trim position when the reverse thrust of the propulsion device is requested.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,290,252 discloses systems and methods for controlling trim position of a marine propulsion device on a marine vessel. A trim actuator has a first end that is configured to couple to the marine propulsion device and a second end that is configured to couple to the marine vessel. The trim actuator is movable between an extended position wherein the marine propulsion device is trimmed up with respect to the marine vessel and a retracted position wherein the marine propulsion device is trimmed down with respect to the marine vessel. Increasing an amount of voltage to an electromagnet increases the shear strength of a magnetic fluid in the trim actuator thereby restricting movement of the trim actuator into and out of the extended and retracted positions and wherein decreasing the amount of voltage to the electromagnet decreases the shear strength of the magnetic fluid thereby facilitates movement of the trim actuator into and out of the extended and retracted positions.